In fiction, point of view (POV) is the perspective from which a story is narrated. Point of view (POV) significantly influences how a reader perceives the story and relates to the characters. This is often the most challenging skill for writers to master, leading to confusion for readers when they move abruptly from one character to another, a technique known as head-hopping.

 

Head-hopping is a sure sign of a neophyte writer and a way to cause readers to avoid what that author writes. Understanding the various types of point of view (POV) and choosing one for your story—and sticking to it—will go a long way in keeping your readers interested and engaged with your work.

 

The following are the main types of POV:

 

1. First Person. Told by a person in the story, using pronouns like ‘I; and ‘we.’ This allows for a deep emotional connection and insight into what the narrator is thinking and feeling; however, the thoughts and feelings of other characters can only be interpreted or understood from the perspective of the POV character.
2. Second Person. This is a less common POV, and it addresses the reader directly using the pronoun ‘you.’ In effect, the reader is a character in the story, but it has the same limitations as first-person, in that the reader can only know what the POV character knows or feels.
3. Third Person. In this POV, the narrator is outside the story and refers to the characters as ‘he’, ‘she,’ or ‘they/them.’ This point of view (POV) is further divided into third-person limited (where the narrator only knows the thoughts and feelings of one character) and third-person omniscient (where the narrator knows everything about all characters and events). In the third-person omniscient point of view, however, it’s essential to let the reader know when the narrator is shifting from one character to another to avoid confusion.

 

The choice of point of view is important. This shapes the reader’s experience and helps in understanding the story. It determines how much is revealed, influences character development, and affects the story’s emotional tone. The first person is more intimate, while the third person/omniscient perspective allows for a more detached overview of the story elements. Once a particular point of view is chosen, it should be consistent throughout the story, and by all means, avoid head-hopping. If you want to control the amount of information the reader has, to build suspense, for example, the third-person limited is probably the best, but this is a decision you have to make as an author. There are few ironclad rules of writing—at least, few that can’t be broken for dramatic effect. From my point of view, however, the rule against head-hopping is the one rule that no writer should ever break.